Abstract

The detection and characterization of still-forming planets provide crucial constraints on the earliest stages of a planet's life.  There are multiple ways to detect forming companions embedded in circumstellar disks, both directly and indirectly. With current high-contrast imaging instruments, we can target both the thermal radiation emitted by the planet as well as emission lines associated with accretion processes. In this talk, I will discuss recent results from the ISPY survey, the largest imaging survey to date that focused uniquely on protoplanetary disks. With the VLT/NaCo instrument, we targeted more than 50 young disks showing indications of potential planet-disk interaction in the form of substructures identified with ALMA, SPHERE and GPI. In addition, I will I present the direct detection of H-alpha emission in the outer regions of a well known protoplanetary disk using MagAO-X, which we interpret as an accreting protoplanet candidate. If confirmed, this protoplanet will provide a unique opportunity to study how and where gas giant planets form, how young planets interact with their natal protoplanetary disk and how volatile delivery to their atmosphere takes place.